The invention is in the field of fire fighting, and more particularly, pertains to delaying the full pressure and flow of water from the fire hydrant until the firemen have laid the hose and are ready to fight the fire. The inventor is also the inventor of a PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL FLOW RETARDANT VALVE, issued Oct. 3, 1978, having U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,860.
The valve of the prior invention and the instant valve address a specific problem that occurs in fighting fires. Namely, as the fire truck with its crew approach the fire, one of the firemen must get off the truck at the hydrant with the hose, attach the hose, and wait. While he waits, the fire truck makes its way to the fire and lays out the hose. Once the truck is at the sight of the fire, the hydrant man opens the hydrant and then runs to the fire site. Valuable fire fighting time is lost for this man while he is in transit from the hydrant to the fire.
If the hydrant is opened too fast, an enormous water manner can result which can be very dangerous. Clearly, the hydrant cannot be opened until the entire length of hose that is to be used is laid. If the man by the hydrant accidentally opens the hydrant while the hose is still coming off the truck, serious problems occur.
The purpose of this invention, as was the purpose of the invention having U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,860, is to provide a valve that can be attached to the hydrant which will automatically delay the flow of water from the hydrant after it is opened so that the full crew can proceed to the fire without leaving one man behind to open the hydrant when the hose has been laid.
As with U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,860, this valve is automatic. There have been attempts to make radio-controlled valves, which, on its surface, sounds like the ideal situation inasmuch as complete control of the timing would be had at the actual site of the fire. In practicality, however, the juxtaposition of the somewhat delicate electronics needed to operate a remote controlled radio connection with the heavy, rough, wet environment of the fire hydrant have led to inadequate reliability for this approach to be feasible. Clearly, when the fire is raging out of control, it is totally unacceptable to find out two blocks away from the hydrant that the radio controlled mechanism has failed and the hydrant won't open.